The Orioles spent 2025 on the outside of October baseball looking in, and Mike Elias got the message loud and clear: It’s time to get aggressive. After years of stockpiling prospects and preaching patience, the front office finally opened the checkbook and made some noise. But in the AL East—where our neighbors include the Yankees’ perpetual money machine, the Red Sox’s renewed ambition, the Blue Jays’ stunning spending spree, and even the Rays doing, well, Rays things—the question isn’t whether Baltimore improved. It’s whether they improved enough.
Start with the good news: the Orioles went shopping, and for once, they didn’t just window shop. Baltimore landed Pete Alonso on a five-year, $155 million deal, giving them the true power bat they’ve desperately needed. Alonso mashed 38 homers last year with the Mets, and now he gets to call Camden Yards home. The Athletic called it the “Best Signing to Signal a Team is Serious.”
They also swung a big trade with the Angels, sending onetime pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez—who missed all of 2025 with injury—to Los Angeles for Taylor Ward, who swatted 36 home runs last season. It was a bold strategy, Cotton: trading pitching for offense, long-term control for immediate production, and injury risk for proven power. Not everyone loved it, but it addressed a problem at corner outfield.
On the pitching side, Baltimore added closer Ryan Helsley (two years, $28 million), re-signed Zach Eflin to a one-year deal, and brought back reliever Andrew Kittredge for essentially no cost. They acquired Shane Baz from the Rays for a huge haul of prospects: how will that age? No clue, but it was a big statement.
Overall, this is a solid haul that checks boxes: power bat, outfield bat, closer, and rotation depth. And they may not be done: even after the additions of right-handers Baz and Eflin, one team official said the team’s rotation was not necessarily complete, describing it as only “adequate.”
It’s a weird position to be in as a Baltimore fan. Our team moved in the offseason, and division rivals had to mount a response. And mount they did, to varying degrees.
The Blue Jays are particularly galling. After coming inches short of a World Series title last fall, they now might have gone and won the offseason. Toronto signed ace Dylan Cease to a massive seven-year, $210 million deal, added power-hitting Japanese import Kazuma Okamoto (four years, $60 million), signed sidewinder Tyler Rogers (three years, $37 million), and brought in KBO standout Cody Ponce. They’re hunting for more, too, with Bo Bichette’s future uncertain and Kyle Tucker rumored to be on their radar.
The Red Sox stook a more surgical approach but still made impactful moves. They traded for ace Sonny Gray from the Cardinals, added first baseman Willson Contreras, and nabbed Johan Oviedo to bolster the rotation. Boston is still reportedly still in the mix for Alex Bregman, too.
So far, the Yankees have been relatively quiet. They re-signed outfielder Trent Grisham and starters Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough, and infielder Amed Rosario, and signed infielder Paul DeJong to a minor league deal. It’s an oddly restrained offseason for the Bronx Bombers, though whispers about trade possibilities persist. Never count them out.
The Rays did what the Rays always do: make moves that confuse everyone but will probably work out somehow. They traded away Shane Baz (to the Orioles) and Brandon Lowe in a three-team deal, then signed Steven Matz and Cedric Mullins. They seem to be in sell-and-retool mode, although you can never tell with the Rays.
So how do the O’s move stack up? Absolutely the team made aggressive moves in signing Alonso to a hefty deal and acquiring Baz for a passel of prospects. But aggression is relative when the Blue Jays committed $210 million to one pitcher and aren’t done yet.
Baltimore also still has rotation question marks. Shane Baz is talented but unproven in a full-season role. Eflin is coming back from back surgery. The rotation depth behind Bradish isn’t exactly terrifying. If the Orioles land someone like Ranger Suarez or Framber Valdez—and reports suggest they’re trying—that changes the calculus entirely.
Predicting the AL East is a fool’s errand, but let’s be fools together. The Blue Jays enter as favorites—they made the deepest playoff run in 2025 and addressed their biggest needs. But Dylan Cease is kind of a risky person to hang the “ace” tag on, and we don’t know how NPB talent Okamoto’s bat will translate. The Yankees remain the Yankees, but this has been a quiet offseason. Same for the Red Sox, although they plugged holes at the top of the rotation. As for the Rays? This seems a rebuilding strategy, although who knows, they’ll probably plot something diabolical that involves a 27-year-old journeyman suddenly posting a 1.90 ERA.
The AL East is a brutal neighborhood where standing still means falling behind, and the Blue Jays remain an imposing team to beat. But make no mistake, the Orioles made real moves this winter—legitimate, win-now additions. It’s been enough to excite the fanbase. Is it enough to outlast the Blue Jays’ spending spree, the Red Sox’s quiet stockpiling and the Yankees’ enduring talent? We’ll find out soon enough. But at least this time, Baltimore is actually in the fight.